Draining device for oil cans



July 6, 1965 s. E. ALLEN 3,192,970

DRAINING DEVICE FOR on, CANS Filed March 1, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR SCOTT E. ALLEN ATTOR N EYS July 6, 1965 s. E. ALLEN 3,

DRAINING DEVICE FOR OIL CANS Filed March 1, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 2lNvEhiToR sco'r'r E. ALLEN ATTORNEYS y 1955 s. E. ALLEN 3,192,970

DRAINING DEVICE FOR OIL CANS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 1, 1962 &

INVENTOR SCOTT E. ALLEN ATTORN EYS V of oil cans.

United States Patent 3,192,970. DRAINHNG DEVICE Ffiik GE. QANS Scott E.Allen, Los Angeies, Calif assignor, by mesne assignments, to The HniimanManufacturing Company, Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Mar. 1,1362, Ser. No. 176,660

8 (Iiaims. (Cl. 141-106) This invention relates to devices for drainingoil cans. In automobile service stations the lubricating oil for use inautomotive engines is largely sold in metal cans,

mostly of the l-quart and the S-quart sizes. In refilling the enginecrank case after draining the oil therefrom or in replenishing oil whichhas been used up by the engine,

the oil is dispensed from these cans directly into the filling openingof the engine. A 'small amount of oil necessarily adheres'to the innersurfaces of the can, and

the purpose of the present invention is to facilitate recovery of suchoil by providing a rack upon which one or more oil cans may be rested inproper position for the oil remaining in the can to drain therefrom bygravity. r

In dispensing the oil to automotive engines one end of a sealed can ispunctured near the head or rim of the can, and a portion of the can headout and bent inwardly, leaving an opening through which the oil mayfiow. Customarily a tool is employed for this purpose which will producean opening large enough to permit space,.the cans are crushed and throwninto a suitable receptacle until called for. In the latter case, toprevent scattering of the oil, it is particularly desirable to have theoil drained as completely as possible from the empty cans beforecrushing. In any case, it is desirable to collect and save forappropriate use the oil which remains in the cans.

By means of the present invention I have provided a draining devicewhich simultaneously drains a number This device comprises a rackarranged to hold a quantity of the cans at individual draining positionsthereon, the individual cans being supported in an inclined position andwith the opening in the head of the can at the lowest point so thatcomplete emptying of the can will take place by gravity after the canhas rested on the rack for a suitable length of time. The can may besupported either in an approximately horizontal position but with oneend pitched downwardly, or it may be supported in an upright positionbut tilted somewhat from the vertical- In order to insure, or at leastto facilitate, the placing of the can on the rack with the opening inthe end of the can at the lowermost position, I provide a finger on thedraining device which is fixed in position and pointed towards the canas it is placed on the device. One of these fingers is provided for eachof the draining positions, and in order for the can to be supportedproperly the station attendant sees that this finger entersthedraining'opening as he places the can on the rack.

oil will readily flow out of the can and on to the surface.

of the draining device.

i6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is also a view similar to FIG. 4 illustrating a ,furthermodification;

\ l-quart :oil can.

"Ice

Patented July 6, 1965 The forms of the draining device which are madewith the object of saving space in the service station, are arrangedwith one or more draining channels along which the oil from each of thecans on the rack may flow by gravityand be discharged into a suitablecontainer. In another form of the rack which may be used where space isnot at a premium, the rackis placed directly on top of the collectingcontainer and forms in a sense a cover for it, the cans being supportedin such a way as to drain into the container:

Anumber of embodiments of the invention are illustrated in theaccompanying drawingsandthe invention will be further explained in thefollowing description withireference to such drawings. In thesedrawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one form of the invention arranged to besupported on a vertical wall;

I FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section taken on line 2--2of FIG. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows;

of FIG..1; ,j FIG. 4 is. a fragmentary perspective view similar to FIG.1 showing a modification; FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 showinganother modification; j

FIG. 6 is a vertical longitudinal section taken on line FIG. 8 is atransverse section taken on line 8+8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a still further modified form ofthe invention;

FIG. 10 is a partial end view of the device shown i FIG. 9 looking inthe direction of the arrows 10-10;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of still another modifica- -tion;- and anelongated rack 15 of sheet metal having a plurality of"outwardlyprojecting shelves 16 arranged in spaced rela- .-tion from thetop to the bottom of the rack and fixed thereto. Asshown, the shelves 16are six innumber and are of; appropriate dimensions to receive andsupport a The lowermost shelf or support 17 is somewhat larger,particularly in length,- so as to support alarger oil'can-such as onecontaining 5 quarts of oil.

. Rack '15 in cross-s ection is dish or trough shaped as shown in FIG. 3with parallel flanges 18 along the edges of the opposite sides, and witha collection. channel 19 extending from end-to-end of the racks forreceiving the oil from each ofthe shelves16 and conveying it tothe lowerend of the rack. Channel 19 may be rectangular in cross-section as shownin FIG. 3, or it may be of any desired shape. The rack is mounted on avertical surface, such as a wall of the service station in any suitablemanner, aneye 20 being provided at the topfor this purpose. I

The bottom of the rack is held out from the wall sev eral inches bymeansv of a bracket 21' which is hinged at 22 to side flanges 18 andwhich may be secured to the wall in any convenient manner. The purposeof supporting the lower end of the rack away from thewall is tofacilitate the'placin g of an oil collection receptacle beneath therack, the: draining oil being collected in this receptacle from thelower end of channel 19.

Each of the shelves16; is made of sheet metal and is trough-shapedhaving two flaring sides 23 extending outwardly and upwardly. from acentral narrow panel amnio S-quart can, the same as racks 15 and 15a.

24. The shelves are individually mounted on rack member 15 in anysuitable way, such for example as by bending the flaring sides 23 ofeach shelf to form triangular portions 25' which are spot weldedto theflaring sides of the rack. In bending the triangular portions 25 thearrangement is such that the shelf 15 is supported at an angle of about60 degrees to the lengthwise surface of rack 15. This positions the can,such as can 26,. with its axis pitched downwardly at a good drainingangle towards the rack 15.

Can 26 is typical of the oil cans currently used, and the conventionaltool or instrument by which cans are opened and emptied into the engineis so constructed that when inserted adjacent the bead of the can itcuts an aperture such as indicated at 27 in FIG. 8 (see also FIGS. 2, 8and 12). Opening 27 has two side edges approximately parallel orslightly curved and which are joined by a curved edge 28 which istangent to the interior surface of the can wall 29. Opposite the curvededge 28 aperture 27 has a straight linear edge 30 which .is formed bybending inwardly the metal of the can head 31 within aperture 27 to forman inwardly projecting tang 32 shown in FIGS. 2, 6 and 12.

It is important to have aperture 27 located on the bottom side of thedraining can 26 because otherwise the oil will be prevented fromdraining out. To insure that each can placed on one of the shelves 16 isso positioned, a finger such as finger 33 is mounted in fixed positionand associated with each of the draining positions, or, in other words,with each of the shelves 16. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a finger 33 isfixed to each of the shelves 17 at a sufiicient distance from the rack15 to prevent the top edge of the can from striking the rack.

Each of the fingers 33 has a horizontal portion directed to bereceived'within the aperture 27 of the can and spaced sufliciently abovethe surface of the central Shelf 17, which is the lowermost shelf, shownin FIG.

1, is similar to shelves 16 except that it is somewhat longer in orderto accommodate a S-quart can. Its finger 33, however, is the same sizeas the fingers mounted on the shelves 16 because the same size tool isused in making the pouring aperture 27 in the larger can as in the.

one-quart cans. To facilitate packing this device for shipment shelf 17is pivotally mounted so that it can be swung against the rack. It pivotson the. same hinge pin 22 as bracket 21..

Referring now to FIG. 4 the modified draining device shown here issimilar to that of FIG. 1 except that shelves 16a as well as the singleshelf 17a are arranged to be folded into parallel relation to the rackmember 15a. They fold between the side flanges 18a. For such mountingthe inner corners of the sides 23a of each shelf are provided with ears37 which are bent into parallel relation and perforated to receive apivot rod 38 which is fixed in suitable apertures in flanges 18a. Theshelves 16a and 17a are each provided with a positioning finger 33awhich is similar to finger 33 and similarly mounted or fixed to theshelves.

In the modified form of draining device shown in FIGS. and 6 theconstruction is similar to that of FIG. 1 except for. thecross-sectional form of the rack member 15b, and the means by which thecans are held in draining position. Rack member 15b is made toaccommodate a plurality of one-quart cans and a single In crosssection,however, the rack member 15b does not have the edge flanges 18 or 18a,but the member may be made somewhat wider, if desired. Rack member 15bis supported in the same way as the previously described All racks andprovided with a bracket 21b to hold the lower end of the rack away fromthe wall on which it is supported.

In this form of the draining device the cans 26 are supported with theiraxes parallel with the lengthwise direction of rack 15b and each can issupported at the bottom by a finger member 3312, the foot portion 36b ofwhich is welded to the bottom fiat surface of channel 19, which in thisinstance is rectangular. Therefore in placing a can on this rack thedispensing opening 27 is impaled on one of the fingers 33b and the upperend of the can is then swung flat against rack 15b.

In so doing, a spring catch 39 engages the bead 34 at the opposite endof the can and holds the can in position. The tail 4% of spring catch 39is welded or otherwise secured to the central fiat surface of channel19. From this description it will be understood that instead of shelves16 and 17 for holding the draining cans, cooperating sets of fingers 33band spring catches 39 are mounted lengthwise of rack 15b.

In the form of the draining device shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 theconstruction is similar to that just described except for the device forholding the upward portion of each can. That is to say, rack 15c isprovided with a series of equally spaced fingers 33b exactly as shownand described in connection with FIG. 6 but not visible in FIG. 7, thesefingers serving both to locate the drainage opening 27 at the lowermostpart of the can and also to partially support the can.

Associated with each of fingers 3312 on rack 15c and spaced somewhatabove each of them is a spring clasp member 41 the arms of which areappropriately spaced apart to receive the exterior surface of a can sothat when a can is placed on one of the fingers 33b as previouslydescribed, and its upper portion swung toward the rack, the spring clasp41 will frictionally hold the can in position. The central portion 42 ofeach of the spring clasps 41 is welded or otherwise secured to themargins of rack 15c on the opposite sides of rectangular channel 19. Asin the other forms of the draining device, it will be understood thatrack is arranged to provide for a S-quart can, preferably at the bottomof the rack. The form of the invention shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 issomewhat preferable to that shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 because the springclaspA-l will accommodate cans of varying length, whereas the springcatch 39 will accommodate only one length of can.

In each of the forms of the draining device previously described thearrangement is such that surface tension caprllarity will aid in theflow of the oil out of the can 'under the forces mentioned, the sideedges. of offset portion 35 from the lowermost inner surface of the canwall 29 to the flat central panel 24 of the shelf and thence will flowover the inner end of the shelf into channel 19. In the form shown inFIG. 4 the path of the oil will be sub- 'stantially the same as justdescribed. In the form shown in FIGS. 5-8 the oil will also flow downthe surface and edges of offset portion 35b of the supporting finger 33band will follow these to the bottom of channel 19.

In FIGS. 9 and 10 there is shown a form of the draining device which isgenerally horizontal instead of vertical. In this form the rack member15d is formed of sheet metal and has a fiat upright portion 43 which issecured to a vertical support such as one of the walls of the servicestation, apertures 44 being provided for this purpose. It also has anoutwardly extending flat portion 45 which serves to support a pluralityof cans, such as can 46. For this reason, and in order to pitch the canso that the inner end thereof will be adjacent upright portion 43, theportion 45 is placed at an angle which is less than a right angle withrespect to portion 43 as shown in FIG. 10.

Spaced along member 45 are a series of locating fingers 33d to receive adraining opening 27 of one of the cans 46. Fingers 33d aremounted on theinner margin of member 45 and are welded thereto. While the upper edgeof member 43 is mounted in horizontal position, the lower edge of thismember, or the corner line 47 between members 43 and 45 is disposed atan angle which slopes downwardly to the left so as to drain the oil fromthe several cans in that direction. This oil flows along the innermargin of'member 45 which constitutes a collection channel and isreceived in an outwardly angled channel 48 formed in member 45 at itsleft hand end. This channel directs the flow away from the member 43 andthe wall of thebuilding so that it can be collected in a suitablereceptacle. 7

In order to provide each can with support in addition to that afiordedby the finger 33d a series of upright posts 49 are arranged to engagethe lower side of each can which has been received on one of the fingersand keep it aligned with the finger. It will be understood that, as inthe previously described forms of the invention, this form also providesfor the drainage of one S-quart can. As shown in FIG. 9 this is providedfor at the left end of rack 15d.

As in the present forms of the invention the forces of surface tensionand capillarity also come into play in this form in assisting completedrainage of the cans. The offset portions 35d of each of the fingers 33dare in contact with the edges of the cans and lead the oil down onto thesurface of member 45 adjacent the corner line 47.

In the form of draining device shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 the rack 15e isof circular form and arranged to rest upon the top of and form a coverof a circular oil receptacle 50. For this reason it is provided with adownwardly extending flange 51 which fits the outer periphery of thisreceptacle. The rack and receptacle may be rectangular, if desired. Rack15e is also of sheet metal and is provided with a series of 6semi-circular cuts 52 each of appropriate size to partially surround theexterior of a 1- quart can, and with a further semi-circular cut 53 ofan appropriate size for a S-quart can.

The semi-circular metal sections 54 within each of these semi-circularcuts is then bent downwardly along its straight base line 55 which joinsthe ends of the respective semi-circular cuts to form a support for acan 56 to --.be drained. This tilts the can from the verticalsufiicient- 1y to provide proper drainageof the oil therefrom when thedrainage opening 27 of the can is placed adjacent the lower edge of oneof the supports 54. In order to locate opening 27 at this point alocating finger 33e is formed in each support 54 by bending up thecentral edge portion of the metal forming each of these supports.

When cans are placed on supports 54 of rack 15e with their openings 27impaled on the respective fingers 33e, the oil remaining in the canflows out of this opening in contact with the bead 34 and onto thesurface, of one of the supports 54 from which it drains into thereceptacle 50.

I claim:

1. A device for simultaneously draining a plurality of oil cans eachhaving a dispensing opening in one end adjacent the peripheral edgethereof, said draining device comprising an approximately upright rackcomprising an open elongated troughlike member, having a sharply definedcollection channel extending from end-to-end thereof, a plurality offingers fixed thereon in vertically spaced relation and each projectingupwardly from the bottom of the collection channel for receiving thedispensing opening of a can, a friction device fixed to the rack aboveeach finger for engaging the upper portion of the can and therebycooperating with the finger in supporting the can with its axis parallelwith the troughlike member, said member being disposed at an acute angleto the vertical so that the cans tilt towards the fingers therebycausing the oil remnant in each can to flow along the finger to thechannel, such flow being discharged at the lower end of the rack. 1

2. A device for simultaneously draining a plurality-of oil cans as setforth in claim 1 wherein the friction device has the form. of a springcatch adapted toengage the head of the upper end of the can which isimpaled on the cooperatingfinger below it.

3. A device for simultaneously draining a plurality of oil cans as setforth in claim 1 wherein the friction device comprises a spring claspfixed centrally on the rack and tion device.

4. A device for simultaneously draining a plurality of oil cans eachhaving a dispensing opening in one end adjacent the peripheral edgethereof said draining device comprising a rack disposed in generallyhorizontal position and including a shelf having a flat surface pitcheddownwardly to a slight extent both laterally towards the rear edgethereof and lengthwise towards one end, means for supporting said shelf,means forming an oil collection channel along the rear edge of theshelf, a plurality of projecting fingers for receiving the dispensingopening of a can, the fingers-being fixed to the shelf in spacedrelation lengthwise thereof and projecting in parallel relation to eachother towards the front edge of the shelf, and means associated witheach of the fingers for providing side support to the can to maintainthe axis of the can substantially at right angles to the lengthwisedirection of the shelf.

5. A device for simultaneously draining a plurality of oil cans eachhaving a dispensing opening in one end adjacent the peripheral edgethereof, said draining device comprising a rack in the form of aplate-like member supported on and forming a cover for an oil collectionreceptacle, a plurality of semi-circular cuts in the platelike member,the material within each of these cuts being bent downwardly along thediameter joining the such opening as the lowest point of the can andthus facilitate complete emptying.

6. A device for simultaneously draining a plurality of oil cans eachhaving a dispensing opening in one end adjacent the peripheral edgethereof, said draining device comprising a sheet metal memberapproximately L-shaped in cross-section, the upright portion of which isadapted to be secured to a support, the arrangement being such that thedevice pitches downwardly lengthwise, and the lateral portion of suchmember having a flat upper surface and being disposed at less than aright angle to the upright portion so as to pitch the flat surfacethereof inwardly towards the rear, a plurality of projecting fingers forreceiving the disposing opening of a can, the fingers being fixed to theshelf in spaced relation lengthwise thereof and projecting in parallelrelation to each other towards the front edge of the shelf portion, andmeans associated with each of the fingers for providing side support tothe can to maintain the axis of the can substantially at right angles tothe lengthwise direction of the shelf.

7. A device for simultaneously draining a plurality of oil cans eachhaving a dispensing opening in one end adjacent the peripheral edgethereof, said draining device comprising a rack disposed inapproximately upright position, said rack comprising an elongated membertroughshaped in cross-section having a central lengthwise drainagechannel and flaring flat surfaces on the respective opposite sidesthereof and having parallel flanges projecting forwardly from the sidemargins of the flat surfaces, a plurality of shelve in spaced relationlengthwise of the trough member for supporting individual cans on theirsides, each shelf being trough-shaped in cross-section and havingflaring flat side surfaces, each shelf having ears projectingrespectively from the opposite edges of the flaring surfaces near oneend, said ears being disposed parallel to one another and having alignedapertures therethrough, said ears being disposed between and in contactwith the inner surfaces of the trough member flanges and pivoted theretothrough said respective apertures, shelves being folda'ble about theirrespective pivots into intimate contact with the trough member, andbeing swingable outwardly therefrom into can-draining position, theinner edges of their flaring side portions engaging the flaring flatsurfaces of the trough member to CO- operate with said pivots insupporting the shelves.

8 3. A device-for simultaneously draining a plurality of oil-cans as setforth in claim 7 wherein the lowermost shelf is longer than the uppershelves and is spaced from said shelf a greater distance than thespacing of the upper shelves.

References Cited by the Examiner UNiTED STATES PATENTS 1,275,983 8/18Rasmussen 211-150 2,071,944 2/37 Hoffman .s 141106 XR 2,250,910 7/41Heitt 141106 2,365,533 12/44 Elsebusch 141-406 2,366,529 1/45 Hoff141-106 2,587,779 3/52 Smith 141106 2,728,488 12/55 Hankins 1411062,743,039 4/56 Smith 141-106 XR LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner.

7. A DEVICE FOE SIMULTANEOUSLY DRAINING A PLURALITY OF OIL CAMS EACHHAVING A DISPENSING OPENING IN ONE END ADJACENT THE PERIPHERAL EDGETHEREOF, SAID DRAINING DEVICE COMPRISING A RACK DISPOSED INAPPROXIMATELY UPRIGHT POSITION, SAID RACK COMPRISING AN ELONGATED MEMBERTROUGHSHAPED IN CROSS-SECTION HAVING A CENTRAL LENGTHWISE DRAINAGECHANNEL AND FLARING FLAT SURFACES ON THE RESPECTIVE OPPOSITE SIDESTHEREOF AND HAVING PARALLEL FLANGES PROJECTING FORWARDLY FROM THE SIDEMARGINS OF THE FLAT SURFACES, A PLURALITY OF SHELVES IN SPACED RELATIONLENGTHWISE OF THE TROUGH MEMBER FOR SUPPORTING INDIVIDUAL CANS ON THEIRSIDES, EACH SHELF BEING TROUGH-SHAPED IN CROSS-SECTION AND HAVINGFLARING FLAT SIDE SURFACES, EACH SHELF HAVING EARS PROJECTINGRESPECTIVELY FROM THE OPPOSITE EDGES OF THE FLARING SURFACES NEAR ONEEND, SAID EARS BEING DISPOSED PARALLEL TO ONE ANOTHER AND HAVING ALIGNEDAPERTURES THERETHROUGH, SAID EARS BEING DISPOSED BETWEEN AND IN CONTACTWITH THE INNER SURFACES OF THE TROUGH MEMBER FLANGES AND PIVOTED THERETOTHROUGH SAID RESPECTIVE APERTURES, SHELVES BEING FOLDABE ABOUT THEIRRESPECTIVE PIVOTS